Top Richland, SC lawmaker backs Joe Cunningham for governor one week before primary
A top Democratic state lawmaker from Richland County says he is backing Joe Cunningham for governor in South Carolina’s June 14 primary.
House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford made his endorsement official Tuesday at the State House with Cunningham, who is one of two frontrunners in the Democratic race for governor next Tuesday.
“I’ve worked with several people in this body (the Legislature) that have been here for over a decade that have not accomplished a single thing,” Rutherford said. “... as I look around this body, and I look around the state and try and find the right person for the job. That person today, tomorrow and for the future is Joe Cunningham.”
Cunningham faces state Sen. Mia McLeod, a Richland County Democrat who serves in the same legislative delegation as Rutherford.
After Rutherford’s endorsement, McLeod took to Twitter Tuesday, calling Cunningham and Rutherford “birds of a feather” and raised previous allegations about circumstances surrounding Rutherford’s wife’s attempt to become a magistrate judge, using the state plane and his mother-in-law’s nonprofit. Rutherford has previously addressed these allegations, and there was no evidence he did anything illegal.
Though Rutherford has served in the State House with McLeod for well over a decade, the legislator said McLeod has not accomplished what Cunningham has, and dinged her for missing legislative meetings and failing to pass any major legislation.
It was not clear what specific meetings Rutherford was speaking about. McLeod did miss days of the legislative session in person because of COVID-19. McLeod has sickle cell anemia, and continues to wear a mask.
Rutherford also said that Cunningham poses the strongest challenge to Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who is running for a second term and is considered the favorite to win the governor’s race in November.
The endorsement is a big get for Cunningham, a former Lowcountry congressman who made headlines in 2018 when he won the 1st Congressional District that was previously held by U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford. It was the first time since the 1980s that a Democrat won the seat. Cunningham lost his reelection in 2020 to U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-Daniel Island, who faces her own primary challenge in June from former state Rep. Katie Arrington, who lost to Cunningham in 2018.
Cunningham has been endorsed by other current and former elected officials, including Charleston’s longtime Mayor Joe Riley.
McLeod, the first Black woman to run for S.C. governor, has her own notable endorsements from inside the State House.
They include Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, and a handful of Lowcountry lawmakers who include, state Reps. JA Moore, D-Berkeley, and Charleston County legislators Rep. Marvin Pendarvis and Sen. Marlon Kimpson.
Rutherford said Tuesday he is unconcerned giving support to Cunningham, as opposed to supporting his State House colleague who is running a historic campaign.
“I hope that people in Richland County see that I am more concerned with the Black community and us winning and having a governor that we can count on, rather than simply voting for someone because she happens to look like me,” Rutherford, who is Black, said. “We’ve got to get past the politics of simply looking at somebody. I examined Joe’s, I examined Mia’s, and Joe is by far the best candidate.”
Cunningham currently leads the race in fundraising.
He has so far raised $1.8 million for his campaign, while McLeod has brought in only nearly $492,000.
Cunningham described the governor’s race as a race as between the past versus the future, and the old versus the new.
As for next week’s primaries, Cunningham said he’s confident but does not plan to underestimate it.
“We’re not taking anything for granted,” Cunningham said. “We’re working harder than anyone who’s ever worked for this position. We’re going in every single county no matter how red or how rural or how forgotten people may have felt in communities across our state.”
This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 11:43 AM with the headline "Top Richland, SC lawmaker backs Joe Cunningham for governor one week before primary."
